In a development that could give the Houston Rockets more leverage in trade talks, disgruntled superstar James Harden has reportedly added Milwaukee and Miami to his list of desired trade destinations.
It isn’t yet clear what the Bucks and Heat might offer the Rockets in trade proposals, per Shams Charania of The Athletic, who broke the story. But from the perspective of Rockets GM Rafael Stone, the most important takeaway is that shows a continued willingness by Harden to back down from his original demand of a deal solely to Brooklyn.
After weeks of the Nets reportedly being Harden’s sole focus, ESPN reported Tuesday that Philadelphia and possibly other contenders were also satisfactory destinations for the All-Star guard. On Thursday morning, Charania dropped his report citing Milwaukee and Miami.
Sources: James Harden now has the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat among his preferred trade destinations, along with the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
More on Inside Pass at @TheAthleticNBA: https://t.co/Cp1Irm2VZN
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 10, 2020
In a perfect world, the Rockets wouldn’t trade Harden anywhere. With at least two years left on his current contract, Houston’s current plan (per Charania) is to begin the 2020-21 season with Harden in hopes of a strong start and potentially re-convincing the perennial MVP finalist that he can compete for an NBA title in Houston. Clearly, Harden’s initial request wasn’t set in stone, as evidenced by the new additions to his list.
But even if convincing Harden to stay proves too ambitious, adding more destinations to Harden’s desired list only helps Houston’s bargaining position. Per Charania, the Rockets want “a young star and tremendous draft assets” to trade Harden, and teams are unlikely to give that level of return without assurances that he wants to play there and stay long-term.
Fortunately for Stone and the Rockets, the list of teams to potentially receive those assurances seems to be growing by the day.
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